Pandora Radio’s Dominance Built On Big Data Edge

With a monthly audience of more than 72 million active listeners, Pandora’s lead in the streaming radio market is a significant one. But the Oakland-based company’s advantage over its competitors – which now include Apple’s AAPL -0.09% iTunes Radio – goes beyond monthly listener metrics. Pandora has garnered its sizeable following by impressively delivering on its promise to “give people music they love”. Indeed the most attractive premise of streaming radio – and the area where Pandora excels – is that listeners can create stations that play songs matched to their individual tastes, with only minimal user input. To do this consistently requires big data and the ability to leverage it in meaningful ways.